As many of you may know the month of May is Bike to Work month. The Schemata Workshop crew reflects on the past month and concludes that we put in a solid effort to reduce our offices carbon footprint. John Feit led our team and road to work every day, as he always does; Dominique came in second with her commitment of biking 75% of the time and I came in last but not least biking to work 40% of the month due to a bike accident (faulty new tire) at the end of the second week. Although the rest of the Schemata Workshop crew might not be biking they arrive by either walking or taking the bus. You will typically only find one car parked at our office, our company Prius.

With my bike and body on the mend from my accident I was part of the commuting via foot group. This is certainly a commendable and sustainable approach but I reminisce about my experience riding to work. When riding not only do I decrease my commute to approximately 9 minutes, I also gain a better perspective at the start of the day. I can’t help but smile as I whizz past all those waiting at the bus stop near my house. Instead of riding along my regular walking route on Roy to Broadway then up to 12th Ave E via E John Street, I snake my way up the hill from Bellevue Ave. E on all the back streets, listening to the birds and admiring the old apartment buildings along the way, as I slowly but surely take on the hill. When I cross Broadway I gain a sense of accomplishment as I make it to the top leaving only one small hill up to 12th Ave E to go. Then the last small jaunt goes slightly downhill giving me a moment of no pedaling and a small breeze before I arrive at work - ready to tackle the day.

Beginning my day after my energizing morning routine has been very rewarding and I look forward to being fully healed and my bike repaired so I can extend the Bike to Work month to become Bike to Work year and so on. My colleagues are going to continue to do the same. With such popularity and commitment from the Schemata Workshop crew there’s talk that our office will be creating a shelter to lock up our bikes as the entry space at our office isn’t quite big enough for 3+ bikes but more on this later....